GoCardless is a bank debit payment method built by GoCardless, a London fintech started in 2011. It lets businesses and merchants collect one-time and recurring payments directly from a customer’s bank account after the customer authorizes a mandate. Dutch payments provider Mollie purchased UK-based GoCardless in September 2026, launching a unified platform that supports over 350,000 businesses across more than 30 markets.
Where GoCardless is used
GoCardless is most common in markets where bank debit schemes are prevalent. The supported countries include the United Kingdom and the Eurozone. It also supports collections in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, and Denmark.
You will often see it in subscriptions and membership models, SaaS billing, professional services, and B2B invoicing, where customers prefer paying from a bank account instead of a card.
PSPs and merchants that want to accept payments in the UK should look at Akurateco’s guide to UK payment methods.
How GoCardless works
- The customer selects GoCardless at checkout or during account setup and is shown an authorization form to approve bank debit payments.
- Your system creates a mandate request using the GoCardless API and receives a mandate reference once the customer submits their details.
- After the mandate is active, you submit a payment request that references that mandate, either for a one-time payment or a scheduled recurring charge.
- GoCardless sends the payment instruction through the relevant scheme, such as Bacs Direct Debit in the UK, SEPA in Europe, ACH in the US, or local schemes in other supported regions.
- The payment moves through scheme processing, so it can sit in a pending state before it reaches a final outcome.
- Your system receives status updates through callbacks or webhooks, so the order or invoice stays in sync with the final result.
- You fulfill the order or mark the invoice as paid when confirmation is final, and handle failures using your standard retry or customer outreach process.
- Finance reconciles payouts using scheme and payment references from reports, then matches them back to invoices and customer records.
Merchant requirements and setup basics
Common requirements for GoCardless integration:
- Merchant onboarding and account verification, plus a payout bank account that matches the scheme and currency you plan to use
- A clear plan for collecting customer authorization, including mandate language and consent capture
- GoCardless API credentials and a webhook endpoint to receive payment, mandate, and refund events
- A way to handle pending and failed states in your order, invoice, or subscription logic
- Testing in a sandbox environment before launch, including success, failure, and cancellation scenarios
Fees, settlement, and refunds overview
GoCardless offers standard rates on its pricing page. The Standard plan charges 1% + 20p per UK transaction (prices exclude VAT), capped at £4, with no setup or monthly fee. The Advanced and Pro plans add fraud and failed-payment tooling for 1.25% + 20p (capped at £5) and 1.4% + 20p (capped at £5.60). International collections cost more, starting at 2% + 20p on the Standard plan. Businesses with roughly £1m or more in annual revenue can move to a Custom plan with volume-based pricing instead (checked in September 2026).
For UK Direct Debit collections, GoCardless’s support documentation states that payouts are typically processed within two working days of the customer being charged. You can refund GoCardless payments in full or in part via the dashboard or API, and it takes 1-2 days to receive the refund (checked in September 2026).
Pros and cons of GoCardless
Pros:
- Supports Bacs Direct Debit payments, which make it a strong fit for subscriptions, memberships, and invoice collections
- Repeat payments can feel simpler for customers than re-entering card details
- Helps reduce disruptions tied to card expiry and card reissues for recurring billing
- Useful for higher value payments where bank debit is preferred over cards in some markets
Cons:
- Doesn’t support card payments or digital wallets
- Pricing gets layered, consisting of three tiers with different domestic/international rates, plus extras
- Bank debit settlement is inherently slower than card settlement
Using GoCardless in a multi-method checkout
GoCardless is rarely a standalone choice. Many teams keep cards for broad coverage, then add bank debit for customers who prefer paying from a bank account, especially for subscriptions and invoicing. In some segments, offering both can reduce churn because customers can switch to a more stable payment option when cards fail.
Once you accept GoCardless alongside other methods, operational work grows fast: different dashboards, different event models, and different reporting cutoffs. A payment orchestration platform helps by keeping payment monitoring and reporting in one place, so teams can compare performance across methods, investigate declines, and keep reconciliation consistent without stitching together multiple admin panels.
Integration via Akurateco
Akurateco helps PSPs and merchants expand payment coverage with one orchestration layer across multiple payment methods. If a specific payment method is required for your use case, we can enable it upon request. Reach out to confirm options.
Note: Akurateco provides the gateway and orchestration layer on top of acquirers and does not process transactions itself.
FAQs about GoCardless
What is GoCardless?
GoCardless is a bank debit payment method that lets businesses collect payments from customers’ bank accounts. The company was founded in London in 2011 and became part of Mollie in September 2026. GoCardless is widely used for invoices and recurring billing, where bank debit is a natural alternative to cards.
Can GoCardless take card payments?
No. GoCardless processes bank debit payments only, such as Bacs Direct Debit in the UK, SEPA in Europe, and ACH in the US.
Where is GoCardless available?
The list of supported countries includes the United Kingdom and the Eurozone, and it also supports collections in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, and Denmark.
Does GoCardless support refunds?
Yes, GoCardless refunds are available in full or in part via the dashboard or API. Refunds take 1-2 days to be received (checked in September 2026).
How much does GoCardless charge?
GoCardless’s Standard plan starts at 1% + 20p per UK transaction, capped at £4, with no setup or monthly fee. The Advanced and Pro plans cost more in exchange for fraud and payment-recovery tooling, and international collections carry a higher percentage rate. Businesses with larger volumes can negotiate a Custom plan instead of using the published tiers (checked in September 2026).
How long does GoCardless take to pay out?
For UK Direct Debit collections, GoCardless typically processes payouts within two working days of the customer being charged (checked in September 2026). A customer’s first payment on a new mandate usually takes longer, since Bacs Direct Debit requires an advance notice period before the first collection.
Is GoCardless good for subscriptions or recurring?
Often yes, but it depends on your market and customer preference. Many subscription teams like bank debit because it avoids card expiry issues, but you still need a clear plan for failed payments, retries, and customer communications. In multi-provider setups, unified reporting matters so finance and support can trace every renewal attempt without jumping between systems.
Can I offer GoCardless alongside cards and other local methods?
Yes, many merchants do exactly that, especially when they serve multiple regions or customer segments. The main challenge is operations, not the checkout button, and that is where payment orchestration matters. With orchestration, teams get one view of payment status, performance, and reports across methods, so issues are easier to investigate and reconcile.
